


A Little Magic in the Air

by thisisthemorning



Category: Long Live the Queen (Video Game)
Genre: Character Death, F/F, Letters, Magic, Romance, Sea Monsters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 06:44:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13048653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisthemorning/pseuds/thisisthemorning
Summary: What if Briony inherited both the Duchy of Ursul and Julianna’s Lumen crystal when she died?





	A Little Magic in the Air

**Author's Note:**

  * For [quantumvelvet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/quantumvelvet/gifts).



> This story is roughly based on a playthrough in which the Old Forest adventure happens, in which the naval battle is conclusively won (so no Lumen powers were required to kill the sea monster), and in which Elodie picked Briony as her romance option at the end.

**Year I in the reign of Elodie I, Queen of Nova**

_**In which Elodie and Briony discover their feelings for one another.** _

 

A letter, delivered to Elodie in the third week of her reign:

_Dear Elodie,_

_I’m sorry to hear that you’re still stuck doing beastly lessons. I would have thought that being Queen might have got you out of those! I’ve convinced my parents not to make me go back to school, but now I’m really bored. Can you convince them to let me come to the palace? She has to listen to you now that you’re Queen..._  
xox  
Briony

_PS: I dreamed about our adventure last night. It’s amazing how you could rescue me from a monster and look so pretty at the same time!_

Elodie read Briony’s letter and grinned. Then she read the end and blushed. She was pretty sure that she must have accidentally cast some kind of magic on Briony that afternoon by mistake, because she couldn’t imagine how anybody could possibly have thought her pretty on that particular occasion. Sweat-soaked and with twigs in her hair, sure, but pretty?

Elodie re-read the letter, grinned again, then laid it down on her dresser, turning to her wardrobe instead. She definitely needed to focus on improving her Lumen skills, just to make sure she wasn’t letting loose stray magic on her poor, unsuspecting friends. _Perhaps having lessons still isn’t such a bad idea,_ she mused, pulling out her Magical Girl outfit. _It can’t hurt to be even better prepared._

In any case, if Briony was going to be here, she wanted to be ready for even more adventures...

~~~

A letter, sent by Elodie in the fifth week of her reign:

_Dear Briony,_

_I’m so glad you’ll be here tomorrow! It will be nice to have someone my own age around again. The palace gets very lonely, sometimes, especially now that my father isn’t here. I don’t know if your mother told you, but I made you my Lady-in-Waiting! That way, she could hardly refuse you coming here. Don’t worry, you won’t have to actually do any waiting..._

_xox  
Elodie_

Briony arrived promptly at noon, with five suitcases and her mother in tow. The Duchess of Mead greeted Elodie with a fake smile and an overly sweet ‘Your Majesty.’ Elodie, however, had been studying Flattery just that morning, and, wearing her nicest smile, welcomed them warmly. ‘I know I need to have the _prettiest_ , the most _suitable_ and _reliable_ girls in all of Nova by my side as my Ladies-in-Waiting,’ she said, hoping she wasn’t laying it on too thick, ‘and of course Briony was my first choice. I’m _so_ glad you agreed, Your Grace!’

Briony went red and bit her lip, and Elodie willed her not to laugh. Her mother, however, brightened considerably, and gave Elodie a much more genuine smile. ‘But of course, Your Highness,’ she replied. ‘How could we ever have turned down such a genuine offer?’ She turned to Briony. ‘Briony, dearest, I am urgently needed at home. Do try to live up to this honour the Queen has granted us, won’t you?’

‘Of course, mother,’ Briony said, gaily. ‘I won’t do anything that Elodie doesn’t want me to!’

The Duchess’s nostrils flared, but she embraced Briony wordlessly, curtsied to Elodie, and departed in her carriage.

Briony jumped up and down, grinning. ‘We’re going to have so much fun!’ she said, gleefully, grabbing Elodie’s hand. ‘Come on! I have all sorts of exciting plans to tell you about!’

~~~

A note, received by Elodie one morning during the sixth week of her reign, delivered by a stable boy and written in code:

_Dear Elodie,_

_When you’ve finished your boring lessons for the morning, come and find me in the stables. I’ve found something that you definitely want to see..._

_xox  
Briony_

_PS: I hope you like my new code! I thought of it this morning._

The code really was very difficult to crack, Elodie thought, glad she had taken so many lessons in Ciphering. Really, she had nothing left to learn, but Briony simply was more talented than her in that regard. _Perhaps I should have her make codes for the army and navy to use,_ she mused. It would be good for Briony to have something to do, especially since most of Elodie’s lessons weren’t useful to anybody but Elodie herself.

She pulled off her Magical Girl dress—her Lumen lessons were going swimmingly, and Julianna had told her just that morning that she had nothing left to teach her about Sensing or Wielding Magic—and grabbed her Hunt Coat. If she was going to the stables, she might as well be dressed appropriately!

In the stables, Briony awaited her with a devilish glint in her eyes. ‘Just guess what I’ve found,’ she said, excitedly.

Elodie shrugged. ‘A horse?’ she replied, teasingly.

Briony rolled her eyes and grabbed Elodie by the hand. ‘Come on, I’ll show you!’ she said, pulling her forwards towards the back of the stables. Unfortunately, Elodie’s Composure and Elegance studies were still severely lacking, and Briony’s sudden tug at her hand made her stumble forwards and trip straight into Briony.

‘Oof!’ she cried as she crashed into her friend. Briony, too surprised to react, went down too, but instead of both of them ending up in a heap amongst the hay and dust on the floor of the stable, they instead kept tumbling, through the floor and down... a slide?... down, and down, until they landed, with a scream and a splash, in a shallow pool of water.

Elodie struggled upright, wet and breathless. ‘Briony, what....?’ she began, but then stopped, stunned. Above her, what looked like a thousand stars twinkled in the darkness, and reflected in the pool they had landed in.

Her voice echoed back at her. ‘What... what... what...?’

‘It’s a cave!’ Elodie said, amazed, turning to Briony. The other girl was just as wet and bedraggled-looking as Elodie felt.

‘A cave full of glow-worms,’ Briony whispered. ‘It’s so beautiful!’ She grinned at Elodie. ‘I knew that trapdoor had to go somewhere interesting!’

A laugh bubbled up in Elodie’s chest, and she grabbed Briony’s hands. ‘I have no idea how we’re going to get back out of here, but life has been so much more fun since you got here!’ she giggled, pulling Briony closer so that she could see her in the darkness.

For a moment, everything was still and silent. Briony’s eyes glittered in the dim light of the glow worms. Elodie gazed at them, entranced.

Then Briony leaned in and kissed her.

~~~

A note, sent by Elodie in the eighth week of her reign, encoded using Briony’s new system:

_Dear Briony,_

_Want to go back into the cave tonight? Now that we know the way out we can explore it some more without getting into trouble for disappearing for so long. Julianna told me this morning that she doesn’t have anything else she can teach me, but that won’t stop her telling me off when I need it! It doesn’t seem to make any difference to her that I’m the Queen... Anyway, meet me at the cave after dinner!_

_xox  
Elodie_

 

—-

 

**Year II in the reign of Elodie I, Queen of Nova**

**_In which Elodie and Briony face their first test._  
**

 

A proclamation made to the people of Nova in the seventh-second week of Elodie’s reign:

_It is with great sorrow that Queen Elodie announces a day of mourning across all of Nova for Julianna, Duchess of Ursul. Tributes to the Duchess will be held at the Royal Palace for the next three days. Lady Briony of Mead, as the Duchess’s heir, will lead the funeral procession._

—-

Having Briony lead the procession had not been the greatest idea, Elodie reflected later, as they both sat in Elodie’s bedchamber while Briony combed bits of tomato from her hair. It was such a shame that she still hadn’t been able to convince the people that being a Lumen was a good thing. A huge crowd had turned up for the procession, but at least half of them were only there to throw rotten vegetables at the carriage holding the coffin. Briony had... well, she wasn’t pleased, to say the least. Not that she had got along well with her aunt - she hadn’t, not at all. But she had other reasons to be angry:

“...And three tomatoes hit my horse, Elodie!” Briony exclaimed. “Three! What are you going to do about this despicable behaviour? They should all be arrested!”

Elodie sighed. This was not going to help her plan, but she had to try anyway.

“I’ll see what can be done,” she promised Briony. “But we have more important things to think about.”

Briony huffed. “Hmph. I still say Aunt Julianna should have just put her stupid crystal away, then she never would have had all this trouble. You don’t go waving yours all around, after all!”

Elodie cringed inwardly, but she had been working hard in her Composure lessons since last year, and she managed not to let it show. “About that, Briony,” she began. “You’re Julianna’s heir....”

Briony shrugged. “Sure, but I won’t be going to live in Ursul. It’s such a dreary place - and it’s so far from you!”

Elodie couldn’t help but blush. “You don’t have to!” she said quickly. “You know I want you here.” She grinned mischievously, and nodded towards the bed. “Right here.

Briony finally grinned back at her, putting down the brush. “Oh, really?” she said, leaning into Elodie and kissing her neck. “That could be arranged...”

Elodie giggled, but shook her head. “No! I really do need to talk to you about something.” She grabbed Briony’s hand. “Listen. You’re Julianna’s heir. Julianna was a Lumen. A great Lumen - she taught me everything I know, after all.” A lump welled up in her throat at the thought of her mentor. “I still can’t believe she’s gone.”

Briony squeezed her hand. “Me neither,” she said, her voice wobbling. “But... what does it matter that she was a Lumen?”

Elodie sighed. “Don’t you see? That means you’ve inherited her crystal, too!”

Briony dropped Elodie’s hand abruptly, her eyes wide and shocked. “Me? A Lumen? But... I can’t be!”

Elodie slid open a drawer in her dressing table, and pulled out a small velvet box. “You are,” she said softly. “And... Julianna taught me everything I know. I can teach you, if you’d like?” She couldn’t imagine teaching anyway about magic even half as well as Julianna had done, but she knew that it was what she would want. _Not just want,_ Elodie thought. _She would insist it was my duty._

Briony stood up, arms folded, and shook her head. “No.... no, I can’t,” she said slowly, stepping backwards. “Elodie, you don’t understand...”

Elodie frowned. “What? It’s yours now!” She opened the box and held out the crystal. “Here, take it, and you’ll see!”

Briony shook her head again, more quickly. “I don’t want to be a Lumen,” she whispered.

Elodie stood up, wondering what she could do to ease Briony’s fear. “Don’t worry,” she said, trying to sound soothing. “We can practice together. And it’ll be so much fun!”

Something in Briony’s face changed as Elodie stepped towards her, and for a moment, she looked utterly terrified. “I don’t want to be a stupid Lumen!” she cried, and dashed out of the door.

Elodie stared at the (now empty) doorway for a moment, then sat down with an inelegant thump.

“What on earth do I do now?” she whispered, unsure if she wanted to cry or throw things.

—-

A letter, delivered to Elodie in the seventy-third week of her reign:

_Dear Elodie,_

_I’ve gone to visit my parents for a few weeks. Please don’t be angry..._

_Love,_  
Briony  
xox

Elodie balled up the letter and threw it against the wall with an angry sigh. At least, she thought, the anger was helping with her current lessons; her aim in Archery seemed to improve significantly whenever she was in a foul temper.

Unfortunately, Archery didn’t help improve her mood at all, and her poor courtiers were paying the price. Elodie sighed again, then made up her mind. She needed to do something to convince Briony to see how wrong she was to avoid her Lumen training and to run away. Something that would show her that being a Lumen was a thing to be proud of, to enjoy, not something shameful.

At that thought, hot anger rolled up in Elodie’s belly again. “I can’t believe she would think like that,” she muttered to herself. “I even used magic to save her in the forest!” At that memory, Elodie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push back the tears that were threatening to well up. Unbidden, an image of Briony in the day she had left floated into her mind—Briony covered with bits of tomato, thrown by people who didn’t understand or trust Lumens, so much that they were willing to throw rotten vegetables at a funeral procession to demonstrate it.

“No wonder Briony is afraid of being a Lumen,” Elodie muttered, a cold sense of guilt filling her stomach. After all, while Briony liked to pretend that she didn’t care what anyone thought of her, Elodie knew all too well that she did care—and probably too much.

She sighed for a final time. “It’s time that Nova realized what being a Lumen really means,” she declared aloud. “And that means it’s time for a plan...”

—-

Perhaps if Julianna had still been alive, she would have counselled Elodie against her plan. And perhaps if Elodie had spent more time in the royal grove with the priestesses, she might have thought of running it past Selene before putting it into action. Unfortunately, none of those things were the case, and Elodie was on her own.

The week before, news had come in, encrypted in Briony’s most fiendish code, from several of Elodie’s naval vessels: a monstrous creature was ravaging the shoreline of northern Nova, and no navy ship had so far been able to keep up with it, never mind stop it. With Julianna’s death still so fresh in her mind—Elodie pushed away the lump in her throat—she had ignored the reports, but now, she knew, she needed to act.

“I will not leave this problem to the Navy,” she declared. “I will deal with this creature myself.”

After all, Julianna had taught her everything she knew—right?

—-

A letter, sent by Elodie in the seventy-fourth week of her reign and encrypted with a code known only to herself and Briony:

_Dear Briony,_

_Don’t worry, I’m not very angry. And I’m sorry if I scared you with the crystal. I’ll keep it with me for you, in case you ever want it, but if you don’t want to be a Lumen you don’t need to be._

_I’m travelling to quite near your parents’ estate now, anyway, because a terrible sea monster has been attacking the villages and ships along the coast and I need to stop it. Maybe I’ll be able to visit you afterwards._

_I miss you!_

_Love,_  
Elodie  
xox

—-

It was all going horribly wrong.

Oh, it had started out well enough: Elodie had managed to push the creature back out to open waters and away from the settlements along the shoreline. Maybe this small victory had made her cocky, but she had decided that it might be possible to kill it, or at least drive it out of Novan waters altogether. So she had followed it in her Navy’s fastest ship, using some small part of her magic to increase the speed, even.

Which is how she had come to find herself in the middle of the ocean, atop a sinking ship, blasting magic at a gigantic creature that was doing its best to kill her and that just... wouldn’t... die.

Elodie gritted her teeth with frustration and effort, and raised another huge wave of magic to slam at the creature. As it dived beneath the surface, seemingly unharmed, she grasped at her own crystal in one hand and, without thinking, grabbed the small box with Briony’s crystal in the other.

“Oh, Briony,” she gasped, her lungs heaving with the effort of the magic she had channeled. “Now I’m going to die before I could ever convince you of anything.” She but her lip. “And nobody in Nova will ever trust a Lumen, ever again, if I fail at this!”

The sea creature slammed into the boat, and she fell against the side, the splintered wood leaving a long gash in her forehead. She wiped impatiently at the blood, and forced herself to stand. Perhaps there was a way to take out the creature with the ship, since it seemed like she was going to die anyway.

“Oh, Briony,” she murmured, steeling herself for one last shot at the monster. “I wish I had had a chance to say goodbye.”

She squeezed her crystal and the box containing Briony’s again, then raised her hands. Magic streamed from her, blinding her with its light and dulling all other sensations within her: the pain, the cold, the wet, her vision and hearing... all she could sense was the magic itself, and the kraken below her.

“Die,” Elodie willed. “Die!!”

“Die!” a second voice cried, far away and yet somehow right beside her. “Die!”

A second stream of magic burst from her, through her, around her. Waves crashed, the wind roared, the ship cracked and splintered.

Sand rasped at her skin. A hand rested on her hair. Soft lips brushed her cheek.

“Elodie,” someone whispered. “You did it.”

—-

A proclamation, written by Briony and issued in the eightieth week of Elodie’s reign:

_The Royal Palace of Nova is overjoyed to announce the full recovered of Our Queen, Elodie the Great, after the occasion of her destruction of the Monstrous Sea Kraken which so terrorized our lands. In recognition of this courageous and selfless act in service to her country, her People wish to declare this day to be henceforth the Festival of Lumens, in celebration of the magic which she so heroically wielded._

_LONG LIVE QUEEN ELODIE!_

—-

It took a long time for Briony to tell her side of the story of the defeat of the monster, and even longer for Elodie to convince her to accept Julianna’s crystal as truly her own. Nevertheless, eventually Briony grew as skilled as Elodie, in her own way, and as the years wore on, the couple became known in Nova as the “Lumen Queens”, famed for their love for each other as much as their magical skills. The people of Nova lost their fear of Lumens, and Nova’s capital became home to a grand university where magic-users from around the world could develop their skills. Briony became its patron.


End file.
